Seams In The Vacuum
Recycled scaffold shrink-wrap
Dimension variable
Seams In The Vacuum is a series of site-specific installations projected onto historical palaces left neglected in the city of Palermo, Italy. Some of these palaces have remained in a state of neglect for decades, and bureaucratic hurdles have made it challenging to initiate any restoration interventions. Several installations are situated where the roof has collapsed, creating openings for the elements, and ruins dominate much of the areas.
These site-specific installations were created during the cleaning and recovery actions for some of these palaces, forming part of a community project I initiated in 2012 called Macerie.
Macerie is a series of participatory interventions responding to increasing urban decay and political negligence. It includes exhibitions, residences, talks, publications, and festivals aimed at engaging artists with their context and initiating processes of socio-cultural and urban redevelopment. Through the Macerie project, the community of artists I've gathered worked on opening forgotten historic buildings and involving other communities, attempting to reconnect people with their abandoned historical heritage and raise awareness of what could be lost without collective action.
When I gained access to one of these 15th-century palace ruins in the historic center of Palermo, and with the kickstart of the Macerie community project, we collaborated with architects and political representatives. This initiative brought public attention to buildings like Palazzo Barlotta Principi di San Giuseppe (15th-century) and Costantine Palace of Naples (16th-century), leading to partial renovations in the following years. Today, Dimora Oz, an evolution of Macerie, offers a rich cultural program involving international artists.
The site-specific seams in the vacuum serve as both a metaphor for the process initiated with Macerie to mend the wounds of these historical sites and reconnect artists and communities under the same purpose.
Photos:
Costantine Palace of Naples (16th-century)
Palazzo Barlotta Principi di San Giuseppe (15th-century)
Chiesa Del Giglio (17th-century)
